The Swiss Army Knife of kitchen organization and entertainment devices is, admittedly, a strange description. But what else would you call Amazon’s Echo Show 15 when you consider its long list of abilities? Fire TV streamer, schedule manager, Alexa+ voice assistant, smart home controller, digital photo frame, and more — and now just $270 during a limited-time Amazon sale.
Fundamentally, the Echo Show 15 is a kitchen computer with a large screen. The 15.6-inch 1080p panel is large enough to serve as a secondary television for the room, and the Fire TV integration means it runs the same app library as any Fire TV stick: Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV, Disney+, and the rest. You can wall-mount it or stand it on a counter. The auto-framing camera with 3.3x zoom handles video calls at a distance, which matters more on a kitchen display than it does on a bedside device, since you’re rarely seated directly in front of it. Privacy controls include a physical mic-off button and a built-in camera shutter.
Whole-Home Hub
The organizational features are where it earns the household hub framing. The home screen runs customizable widgets for shared family calendars, to-do lists, local weather, and shopping items. You can pull a live camera feed from a compatible doorbell or security camera without touching your phone, and the smart home dashboard lets you control lights, locks, and plugs by room or individually, which is faster than opening an app when your hands are occupied. The photo slideshow feature rotates images from your library on the home screen when nothing else is active, so the display does something useful even when no one is actively using it.
The recent addition of the Active Media feature lets you start audio in one room and add other Echo devices on the fly without stopping playback, so a podcast or playlist that starts in the kitchen can expand to the living room and bedroom without interrupting.
Works With (and Without) Alexa+
Amazon markets the Echo Show 15 as being designed for Alexa+, its subscription AI assistant tier. The device works without that subscription, but the more conversational, context-aware responses are part of the paid service. Keep that in mind before you buy, if the AI features are the draw.
To make this an even better deal, Amazon offers up to 20% additional savings if you trade in an eligible device, though the value varies by what you’re trading. With or without, though, the limited-time deal running right now that offers this do-it-all screen for just $270 is a solid play.
